March 22 – Students and employees from UMMC join employees from three other Jackson-area hospital groups to build a Habitat for Humanity house: http://bit.ly/JLNbEY

April 16 – Batson Children’s Hospital’s congenital heart program performs its 1,000th case on its third anniversary: http://bit.ly/1drrwxf (video)

April 18 – The three physicians, including Dr. Gay, credited with the “functional cure” of a baby born with HIV are listed on the 2013 Time 100 Most Influential People In The World: http://ti.me/15pmM96April 26-27 – Mission of Mercy dental clinic, which the School of Dentistry is instrumental in planning and staffing, sees nearly 1,300 patients: http://bit.ly/JwsAFb (video)

May 5 – Country music superstars The Band Perry perform a concert in Jackson benefitting the MIND Center: http://on.fb.me/19MYFCn (Facebook)

June 11 – UMMC marks the 50th anniversary of the world’s first lung transplant by Dr. James Hardy: http://bit.ly/JLPOXx

Aug. 7 – UMMC schools enrolled the largest number of students ever, continuing a 10-plus year trend: http://bit.ly/1ddAWcl

Cigna insurance lists UMMC as in-network

The Medical Center and University Physicians are now in-network providers for patients with Cigna insurance. Cigna and UMMC leaders signed a multi-year agreement that went into effect Jan. 5.

Cigna currently serves more than 18,000 customers in the region and nearly 100,000 customers across the state of Mississippi.

Cigna customers wishing to schedule an appointment at UMMC or University Physicians can call toll-free 888-815-2005. Cigna customers with questions about their plan can call Cigna customer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the number on their Cigna ID card.

Surgery faculty welcome McKinney

Dr. Shawn Avril McKinney, an assistant professor of surgery, breast oncology, at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, Huntington, W.V., has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of surgery specializing in breast disease.

After receiving the B.S. in chemistry magna cum laude from Xavier University, New Orleans, in 1993, McKinney earned the M.D. at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga., in 1997. She had residency training in surgery from 1997-2002 at the Morehouse School of Medicine and a fellowship in surgical breast oncology from 2002-03 at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.

She has been with University Physicians and Surgeons, Inc., at the Joan C. Edwards Comprehensive Breast Center ever since.

A fellow of the American College of Surgeons, McKinney is an active member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the National Consortium of Breast Centers. She has made 12 invited presentations nationwide, all covering various aspects of breast disease.

Her specific interests include young patients diagnosed with breast cancer and reducing minority disparities in breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and research.

Mom, UMMC welcome New Year’s baby

Along with help from UMMC physicians and Wiser hospital staff, Jasmine Allen delivered the Medical Center’s first baby of the New Year.

Brayden Allen arrived at 4:29 a.m. on Jan. 1, weighing 7 pounds 7 ounces. Allen, who is from Jackson, spoke with local media on New Year’s Day, saying she and her family couldn’t be happier but now with three children – all boys – Brayden would be her last.

Medical Center staff receive service recognition

The Medical Center is proud to acknowledge those employees who will celebrate service anniversaries this week:

Emory fellow to present pharmacology seminar

Dr. Jianxiong Jiang, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology at the Emory University School of Medicine, will present "Inflammatory Prostaglandin Signaling Following Status Epilepticus" at noon on Monday, Jan. 6, in room 6A.

The seminar is presented by the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

For more information, call Pam Banks at 4-1690.

Learn how to bypass MOOCs at faculty seminar

Dr. Robert E. Cummings, director of the Center for Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Mississippi, will present the Faculty Scholarship Exchange seminar, “Beyond MOOCs: Online Learning and the Personalized Learning Consortium,” at noon on Thursday, Jan. 9, in classroom R354 (upper amphitheatre).

All Medical Center faculty, staff and students are invited. Lunch will be available to the first 75 in attendance.

For more information, call Jessica Green Overby at 4-2810 or email her at jgreen3@umc.edu.

Scientific director to give pharmacology talk

Dr. Darryl C. Zeldin, scientific director, principal investigator and head of the Environmental Cardiopulmonary Disease Group in the Laboratory of Respiratory Biology at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, N.C., will present “Characterization of Transgenic Mice with Endothelial-specific Expression of Human CYP4F2” at noon on Friday, Jan. 10, in room CW 106 of the Classroom Wing.

The seminar is presented by the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

For more information, call Pam Banks at 4-1690.

Strick to explain why rats don't play the violin

Dr. Peter Strick, professor and chair of neurobiology, co-director of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, director of the Systems Neuroscience Institute and VA senior research career scientist at the Pittsburgh, Pa., VAMC, will present “Old and New M1: A Tale of Two Motor Areas, or Why Rodents Don’t Play the Violin” from noon-1 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, in room N617(A)-6A in the School of Medicine.

All Medical Center faculty, staff and students are invited. The seminar is presented by the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences.